Fog, tech glitches hit trains in north India

Railway passengers in and out of the Capital are in for a rough ride as several trains on important routes are getting delayed by well up to 12 hours, thanks to fog across north India and technical glitches at certain sections.

Railway passengers in and out of the Capital are in for a rough ride as several trains on important routes are getting delayed by well up to 12 hours, thanks to fog across north India and technical glitches at certain sections.

On Wednesday, trains from the northeastern states faced inordinate delays due to fog in east and central India plains.

Sikkim Mahananda Express that starts from Alipurduar in West Bengal, Purvottar Sampark Kranti Express and North East Express, departing from Guwahati in Assam were late by seven to nine hours.

"I have no idea when the train will arrive. With so much delay, God knows what condition the passengers are in," said Indro Basu, a Mayur Vihar resident, whose mother is on board the Purvottar Sampark Kranti that was supposed to reach New Delhi at 1pm on Wednesday. It was delayed by eight hours.

On the busy stretch between Jammu and Delhi on the other hand, major technical work near Samba is holding up trains for hours. The Uttar Sampark Kranti Express, which was supposed to reach New Delhi by 6.30am, was delayed by more than five hours. "It was horrible. The railways seemed unprepared. What's worse, the officials seemed clueless," said A Sapru, who works with a private firm in Delhi.

One major grouse among passengers was that Northern Railway (NR) officials seemed clueless when it came to providing updated information on the delays. "There was no clarity about the arrival of trains. It was as if these people don't have technology in hand to find out," said Basu.

"Trains are being delayed due to fog. In low visibility, the speed of trains is being decreased for safety reasons. Our information systems are updated promptly so that people can access latest information about delays," said Manish Tiwari, NR spokesman.